Happy Halloween

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Second Pumpkin

This was my second pumpkin this year. I particulary like the forehead and the lips.

Pumpkin sculpting

This is my first attempt for this year.  I found it to be a particularly tough one to carve; it was coarse-grained and fibrous.  I also ended up going too deep on the eyes. I had no intention at the outset of going all the way through.  Overall, though, I think he looks pretty decent.

Last tomatoes, and stealing daffodil bulbs

Last night was taco night at home.  In preparation of this meal, I was able to pick a handful of cherry tomatoes from our bushes in the yard.  I am eating the last three of those with my lunch today.  I seems very probable to me that these are the last three until next year, but there are still some green ones and the weather is warm, so maybe I’ll get a few more.

One evening last week, as I was running some errands, I found myself with a few minutes to kill in the Springhurst area.  I remembered that there was a spot nearby where I had seen lots of daffodils in the spring.  This spot is pretty neglected; it is near the base of a telephone pole on the border of a vacant lot and a small strip mall, where a house stood until a few years ago.  I had made a mental note of it in the spring, because I had the idea of slipping over there and swiping a few bulbs.  I don’t know who owns the property, but I find it hard to believe that they cared one tiny bit if some daffodil bulbs were heisted.

So that’s what I did.  I happened to have my metal detecting gear, including my hand spade, in the trunk.

I wasn’t exactly sure where to dig, because the spring vegetation is completely gone after summer sets in.  So I dug one test hole…nothing.  A second hole…nothing.  I thought I’d try one more, and give up if it was still non-productive.  The third hole had a big clump of daffodil bulbs.

I hosed them off when I got home, and now they are in the garage.  I’ll plant them soon, but I still need to figure out where.

Jack-o'-lantern turnip

Before our European ancestors discovered pumpkins growing in the New World, they were carving faces in turnips and putting candles inside them.  It’s a holiday tradition that dates back thousands of years.  In recent decades, pumpkins have supplanted turnips in almost all corners of turnip-carving Europe, but it still hangs on, in spots.

I’d never carved a turnip, and decided it was time to give it a try.  I used X-acto blades for the cutting, and a clay working tool to hollow out the turnip.

It’s certainly more challenging than carving a pumpkin, but a turnip jack-o’-lantern comes out looking about the same, just on a smaller scale.

Cherokee Cottage, Jekyll Island

 Walnut ink on paper, 11 x 15 inches.  This was a bit of a rush job. I finished it last night around 12:45. I've been staying up late all week.

In the Paddock - pen & ink

 

I finished this pen and ink drawing a few weeks ago, but refrained from posting photos until I had delivered it to its recipients, which I finally did last night.  This is 10 x 15 inches.

Lunch break metal detecting 9-27-12

I metal detected again today at lunch, same field in the park. Found 6 quarters, 2 dimes, and 1 or 2 pennies.

Lunch break metal detecting

 

I metal detected at lunch today; the first time I've done that in a long time. I visited a nearby park, and discovered that there is a small practice football field down in the woods there. I don't know how long it's been in use. The park dates to 1969, but there is a very old cemetery and old house remains on the land, and I found an old button there (what little I could find through Googling indicates it may date to the early 1800s) a couple of years ago.

This was my first visit to the football field. It's sort of secluded and, although I've been to the park a couple of dozen times, I only just now realized it was there.  There wasn't much trash, and I found a quarter, a nickel, and a couple of pennies. I also found what looks like a necklace clasp, which I don't think is silver.  I only covered a small area, so I guess it's worth going back to.

Faith vs. Science. Now with bunnies and ducks.

Faith vs Science

Hite Invitational

Black swallowtail caterpillar on fennel

I have seen very few large butterflies the last two summers. I think last summer it was because the spring and early summer were so wet. Maybe they are still recovering.

I think I only saw on black swallowtail this year; it was sitting on a sunflower leaf under my bedroom window.  Yesterday I found this evidence that a black swallowtail visited my fennel.

Cross Country

We went to watch our oldest daughter run at the Hite Invitational last night. I was a great evening for it, and a big crowd. She ran well, and her team did well; I am very proud of her!  But I was so caught up in cheering and yelling, and in cheering for the rest of the kids, that I completely neglected to take any photos until after the race.  So here is a photo of her sister on the swings.

I also have some photos of Erin having her hair spray-painted red, but those are on another camera.

Connect at Bernheim, in August

Connect at Bernheim, August 2012

Squallis puppeteer at the Connect at Bernheim even, August 2012

Back in August I went to Connect at Bernheim; here are some photos from the event. I was fun, although not all of it was very interesting. One of the first fun things I saw was a display when some guys were putting a device on people’s heads. This device would monitor your brain activity; if you concentrated, you could make an air compressor blow up a watermelon. It was kind of entertaining to watch.

The Squallis puppeteers were there, too. It was almost too dark to get a photo, but these came out OK.  This one guy was putting on a wearable huge white buffalo puppet. Reminiscent of my giant skeleton Halloween costume.

The Louisville Astronomical Society members were there with a number of telescopes set up. I got a great view of Saturn, looking like a tiny ringed jewel on a black field.

8-26-12

Black walnut ink tree sketch

I started this in the park behind Len's house last weekend, and finished it at home this weekend.  It's 9 x 13 inches.

Drive-by, nearly

This was at the McQueens’ on Sunday.  The rule was, “Don’t shoot the water gun at someone who is holding breakable technology.” Hence the wave-off, “No, he’s innocent, he has a phone.”  I like the matter-of-fact delivery, along with her sister’s look of disappointment. I got off this time; next time, I won’t be so lucky.

Exterior Wall Faux Finish

Here are before and after photos.

Last night I decided I was done--but that's "done" without really meaning DONE done. I can call it done. I'll stay away from it for a few days. However, there are some little things I want to work on, such as highlights on the window trim, and touching up paint smears on that overhead gutter.  Also, at some point, I may try to tackle the very top of that low wall in the bottom image, which I didn't paint because so much of the wall had dirt over the top.

Faux stone wall

 Here's a section of the retaining wall and concrete outbuilding that I am nearly done painting. I'll be going back to work on it tonight.

 

Painting a big wall

I’ve been putting in quite a few hours over at my daughters’ school painting a bare concrete retaining wall and concrete shack (which used to house a boiler) to match the stonework of the school building.  It’s about 675 square feet, so it’s far and away the biggest “canvas” I’ve had to work on.

I’ve done my best to keep the budget low, so in purchasing the exterior latex paint I’m trying to work with the fewest number of colors possible.  I have white, black, a blue-gray, and a yellowish orange.  It’s been a challenge.  As of the night before last, I finally got all the fake stones painted in with at least one coat of paint.  I’ve been altering my technique and experimenting as I go, so I feel like I’m getting better…and right when I got to the last few stones I feel like I figured out what I was doing. I wish I knew when I started what I know now!  But I think I can pull it all together.

Now I’m going back over it all, altering colors, shading, making it more uniform, and looking for ways to put in a sense of shadow and highlight.  I was putting in shadows last night, but it was getting so dark that I couldn’t accurately see what I was doing.